Sudan protests against Egyptian TV serial

Khartoum summons Egyptian ambassador to Khartoum to protest against series "Abuamr al-Masry" that shows some Egyptians living in Sudan being involved in "terrorism".

Sunday 20/05/2018

Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour

KHARTOUM - Sudan said Saturday it has complained to Cairo about an Egyptian television serial that shows some Egyptians living in the African country being involved in "terrorism".

The Sudanese foreign ministry said it had summoned the Egyptian ambassador to Khartoum to protest against the series, "Abuamr al-Masry", which is being broadcast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The ministry said it had also filed a formal complaint with the Egyptian foreign ministry through its embassy in Cairo against the serial, which is based on a novel of the same name.

"'Abuamr al-Masry' shows that some Egyptians living in Sudan are involved in terrorism," the Sudanese foreign ministry said in a statement.

"This is not true because there is no evidence against any Egyptian living in Sudan of being involved in terrorism."

The ministry said those Egyptians living in Sudan have come following a coordination between the authorities and security services of the two countries.

"This television serial is insulting Egyptians living in Sudan and destroying the confidence and relations between the people of the two countries," the ministry said.

"The ministry urges the Egyptian authorities to take suitable steps to stop these attempts at disturbing the interests and achievements of the two countries."

Diplomatic ties between Cairo and Khartoum have largely remained tense, particularly since last year after Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir accused Egyptian intelligence services of supporting opposition figures fighting his troops in the country's conflict zones like Darfur.

Ties between the two were further strained after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Khartoum earlier this year.

Turkey and Egypt have had tense relations since the Egyptian military ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, a close ally of Erdogan.

In recent months tension also rose between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over a controversial dam that Ethiopia is building along its share of the Nile.

Cairo fears that once commissioned the dam will reduce water supplies from the Nile to Egypt.

But on Wednesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that a "breakthrough" had been reached in talks with Sudan and Ethiopia over the dam.